The Center
for Lifelong Learning and Professional Development has been
a part of the university under its current name for just three
years, but has existed at the University in some form for more
than 25 years. The Center is involved with numerous initiatives,
some of them better known than others, such as the Advant*age
Program in which senior residents of Kutztown may attend courses
free of charge. A central element of the Center's mission is
to meet the community's need to respond to the unique goals
of adult learners for education, training, and personal learning.
To accomplish this mission, the Center often partners with organizations
and companies to bring quality learning and life enrichment
programs to the greater Kutztown community. This academic year
brings three exciting partnerships.
The first
partnership is with BEHR Process Corporation. You may know the
company from its line of paints, stains and varnishes. BEHR's
CorpU manages the company's employee educational needs and its
establishment has been quite successful thus far. One of the
factors in BEHR's decision to forge a partnership with Kutztown
University, specifically with its Center for Lifelong Learning
and College of Business was the opportunity to communicate a
shared vision for success to its employees. For BEHR, that means
strategically managing the investment in education and the investment
in its human capital. The first employee cohort of non-traditional
students was formed in February 2004 to pursue the Bachelor
of Science in Management, offered at BEHR's facility in Allentown.
Another
successful partnership has been forged with the International
Code Council. In July 2004, Pennsylvania adopted the International
Codes (I-Codes) for the highest standards in building inspection
and safety.
The Center
for Lifelong Learning, in partnership with the International
Code Council, offers the UCC building code training series of
Residential and Commercial Building Inspection. This training
program is conducted via distance learning for adult students
and focuses on specific, marketable building inspection skills.
The in-depth training has enabled many students to pass the
Pennsylvania certification exams and find prompt employment
in the fields of building inspection and contracting.
For those interested in becoming a professional canine trainer
the third partnership in development is with the Canine Education
Services Certificate Program. Through this program participants
will develop a theoretical foundation for canine training, gain
experiential knowledge of how to train dogs, and understand
the challenges and rewards of working with dogs. Through blended
methodology, expert animal behavior specialists will lead informative
and interactive sessions that constitute a non-credit program
of approximately 6 months in duration. In partnership with KU's
Small Business Development Center, coursework will also include
Small Business Management, Marketing, Communication Skills and
Training Methodology.
For more information on these or any other initiatives please
contact The Center for Lifelong Learning at 610-683-1382 or
visit their website at www.kutztown.edu/academics/learning/index.shtml.
